Dance Commentary and Reviews by Heather Desaulniers, freelance dance critic, former dancer and choreographer, PhD in dance history.

Monday, July 13, 2015

SPF8 - LV Dance Collective

SAFEhouse Arts presents

Photo courtesy ofLV Dance Collective

SPF8

LV Dance Collective

ODC Theater, San
Francisco

July 12th,
2015

The final day of
SAFEhouse Arts’ SPF8 (Summer Performance Festival) at ODC featured six
different contemporary dance programs. And in the middle of the day’s schedule
sat LV Dance Collective’s Red Egg.
Instead of a single full-length piece or a program with a narrative/structural
through-line, Co-Artistic Directors Kao Vey Saephanh and Martha L. Zepeda
smartly chose to bring a sampling of the company’s work. Five short
contemporary compositions that showcased the group’s skill, breadth and charm.

As the lights went up on
Zepeda’s Re-Bir-Tick, the five-dancer
company laid down center stage in a snowflake or flower formation. The dancers
rolled on the ground and their limbs swam through space; pulse and connection
reading through each supple movement. After spending quite a bit of time on the
floor developing these initial movement phrases, they stood and the material
began to vary, though still steeped in the pulse/connection theme. Zepeda’s
choreography is undeniably contemporary, yet with a strong balletic foundation,
leading to some lovely moments. A beautifully subtle pas de cheval fed into a
fluid series of chaîné turns. And as Re-Bir-Tick
concluded, the dancers returned to their opening positions and the lights
dimmed.

From the costumes to the
undulating movement to the music, Zepeda’s second dance, Hmmm…, had an unmistakable belly dance feel. At the same time, this
trio had its fair share of contemporary dance injections, arabesque and
extensions mixing with the sinuous arms and upper body. Saephanh and Zepeda
both choreographed and danced the third work on the program, Ready Set Crack. A nice departure, this
duet featured robotic and mechanical articulation, along with some impressive
contact improv-style lifts and balances. Fly
Ureta, a solo danced by Raquel Del Fiorentino and again dually
choreographed by Saephanh and Zepeda, was absolutely gorgeous. Del Fiorentino
is an extraordinary performer, particularly skilled at transitions. Every step
just melted into the next movement, without compromising clarity or
intentionality.

Closing the afternoon was
the program’s title piece, Saephanh’s Red
Egg. The program notes explained that in the Mien culture, the presentation
of a red egg symbolizes good luck for the year ahead. That shared experience,
community and togetherness certainly read throughout the dance. Costumed in
reds and whites, each dancer held a red egg carefully in their hands,
communicating through their movements its significance and importance. But even
with that measured care and attention, Saephanh managed to drive the work forward
through outward expression rather than internal focus. At the end of the dance,
the performers even ventured out into the audience to give out red eggs in the
crowd. So the sharing, the community was definitely there. Having said that, it
still felt like something was missing; perhaps something more to the narrative
that also needed to be explored.